Post Game Thoughts

[JettFlight5]

1--Great defensive intensity from everybody. They want to run, but the guys put forth a concerted effort to stop it. Result: 51 points for Duquense. Even the guys who struggled on offense were good on D tonight.

2--Mike McCall made TJ McConnell his (female animal, usually a dog) tonight. That was the quickest I've seen MM this year on his first step. Jett did the same thing. MM/JJ should be the starters at the two guard spots the rest of the way.

3--We have to start making FTs at some point. First half was a nightmare from the line.

3--Love Jordair's intensity. Even when he makes a mistake, he keeps flying around making plays. I think the two freshmen (as well as KC/CS) controlled tempo by attacking from outside in and making Duquense play defense for full shot clocks. Once the Dukes got behind, this was a double whammy because they did not execute at all in the half court game.

[AlumniFan]

I really liked the spark that Christian brought to the floor too. Also, Conklin is starting to get better at putting back rebounds and actually having them go in the basket. Really good to see.

On a separate note, does anyone notice how Willie never seems to move at all during the games or even change his expression? I know this has to be very difficult for him, but there is NO emotion from him at all.

[Billiken82]

On a separate note, does anyone notice how Willie never seems to move at all during the games or even change his expression? I know this has to be very difficult for him, but there is NO emotion from him at all.

Have noticed the same thing.

[Billikan]

I really liked the spark that Christian brought to the floor too. Also, Conklin is starting to get better at putting back rebounds and actually having them go in the basket. Really good to see.

On a separate note, does anyone notice how Willie never seems to move at all during the games or even change his expression? I know this has to be very difficult for him, but there is NO emotion from him at all.

I think Willie is trying to stay out of the limelight and be as low key as possible -- and I agree with that approach. He is friendly to folks but he is just keeping a low profile. I would love to see him really get his stuff together and be in a Billiken uniform next year. This team is going to be really good!

[jbizzle09]

-If we shot at our season average at the free throw line, the game would have been over earlier than it was. Terrible free throw shooting early on.

-Evans is a BEAST! Was in foul trouble the entire game yet still found a way to grab 10 rebounds in only 24 minutes. He has to be on the A-10 Freshman Team.

-McCall had some Kwamain-type moments tonight. Basically took charge tonight. Had some careless turnovers, but dominated throughout. Hit a big 3 at the end and loved how he took his man off the dribble all game.

-Jett was awesome tonight. Was all over the court causing chaos. 4 assists and 4 steals more than make up for his 3 turnovers. Along with McCall, was able to take his man off of the dribble whenever he wanted to.

-Conklin with his normal workmanlike performance. 11 points and 7 rebounds. He also stayed out of foul trouble which was key, due to Evans being off of the court for long stretches.

-Salecich had a really good game. Played great defense tonight, especially in the 2nd half. Also nice to see him hit a 3. Majerus showed some confidence in him by having him out there in crunch time.

-Cassity continues to struggle mightily with his shot. Played OK defense, but seemed like Salecich and Jett were more effective than him tonight. Also represented the 4th straight game where he failed to get to the free throw line. Looks like he was content to just let Jett and McCall run the show tonight and settle for threes (which did not hit.) In his last 5 games, he is 1-20 from three-point range. In that same time frame, he has only shot 9 two-point shots, but has hit 6 of them. Perhaps he should look to drive to the basket more rather than settling for threes that aren't hitting. It was nice to see him crashing the boards early on, coming up with 5 total.

-Loe only played 12 minutes due to a bad matchup defensively with the small, quick Duquesne squad. However, he still had 5 points and 3 rebounds. He hit a nice 3 in the 2nd half.

-Remekun was probably more effective than his stats show. Only had 2 rebounds and 1 block, but altered a few other shots. Did get beat on a couple of switches, but was still effective on the defensive end down low.

Overall, it was a really nice win and refreshing to see so much improvement in the freshmen from the beginning of the season. It looks like they are all comfortable in Majerus's system now. Also, all of them seem to be consciously working on their weaknesses. Billiken fans have to be excited about what the future holds for this squad!

[Triangle andToo]

After attending literally thousands and thousands of sporting events in Triangle's life, this was probably the best singing of Our National Anthem that Too has ever heard - trooly spectacular. The honoring of our soldiers during the game and the response from the crowd and especially the student section was extremely sincere and intense for all that have served their country in our military and who attended the game. Great Congrats too Saint Louis University for arranging this.

so it goes.

[booyaa87]

Has anyone noticed that Rob Loe has made significant improvement on defense over the last three games? I am not saying he is Marcus Camby, but, he has actually blocked some shots and is moving his feet to get to the right spot in time to play good help defense. I think this has been a real key to our overall team improvement.

IMO CS and JJ should be playing ahead of Cassity right now. I know he does a lot of little things, but guys who do the little things are better suited to be role players off the bench. I want the guys that do the bigger things starting and playing the majority of the minutes. I get the feeling KC is sort of "grandfathered" in as a starter and big minute player regardless of how much JJ and/or others are playing better than him.

[RUBillsFan]

-Remekun was probably more effective than his stats show. Only had 2 rebounds and 1 block, but altered a few other shots. Did get beat on a couple of switches, but was still effective on the defensive end down low.

Being at the game, it seemed like Remekun had at least 4 blocks. IMO the scorer blew it on that one. Also there Cory was doing an excellent job of blocking out Saunders on rebounds and then usually a guard like Jett or Cassity would grab the rebound. Cory definitely had a better game than the stats show.

[GoBills]

Being at the game, it seemed like Remekun had at least 4 blocks. IMO the scorer blew it on that one. Also there Cory was doing an excellent job of blocking out Saunders on rebounds and then usually a guard like Jett or Cassity would grab the rebound. Cory definitely had a better game than the stats show.

His block on Saunders was tremendous and it came at an important time in the game. Remekun had a very rocky start to the season, but he has been showing a lot of improvement and provides a valuable role for this team.

[JettFlight5]

For the first time in a long time, I really thought the Bills controlled the game throughout (not counting weak sisters like Chicago State). Every time there was a big stop needed, we got it tonight. Guards really got after it on both ends. Duquense looked like they were trying to run some iso plays for Bill Clark off the wing, but since SLU was really flying around, it looked like they stood around away from the ball quite a bit. McConnell had a lot of trouble getting into a shooting rhythm, and it showed.

Normally, I've had a sense late in games of "what's going to go wrong". Tonight, I really didn't even feel that. Great work all the way around tonight.

[GOSLU68]

KC is still better than CS but I do like that CS is re-energizedamd the fact that we have to play PE when RM puts Jett in the doghouse irks me but Jett comes back.

Jett, CS, and BC are our tough kids.

Early (first few minutes of the game) 30 from Duquesne should have been called for flagrant foul on Conklin.

This victory belongs to PM and RM and assistants and to the kids who worked their butts off for two halves

[AlumniFan]

KC is still better than CS but I do like that CS is re-energizedamd the fact that we have to play PE when RM puts Jett in the doghouse irks me but Jett comes back.

Jett, CS, and BC are our tough kids.

Early (first few minutes of the game) 30 from Duquesne should have been called for flagrant foul on Conklin.

This victory belongs to PM and RM and assistants and to the kids who worked their butts off for two halves

If this is the play I am thinking of, I totally agree, but I don't think they even called ANY foul on that play. Just ridiculous.

[RUBillsFan]

If this is the play I am thinking of, I totally agree, but I don't think they even called ANY foul on that play. Just ridiculous.

How about in the first minute or so of the 2nd half when SLU caught the Dukes in a switch and McConnell was on Conklin down low. McConnell literally had his entire arm wrapped around Conk's upper thigh trying to not let him get position. No call. Eventually SLU got Conk the ball and he was fouled (I think by the help D), but missed both shots. How does the ref not see McConnell's arm wrapped around Conk's thigh! He was practically grabbing at his junk.

[The Pelican]

-If we shot at our season average at the free throw line, the game would have been over earlier than it was. Terrible free throw shooting early on.

-Evans is a BEAST! Was in foul trouble the entire game yet still found a way to grab 10 rebounds in only 24 minutes. He has to be on the A-10 Freshman Team.

-McCall had some Kwamain-type moments tonight. Basically took charge tonight. Had some careless turnovers, but dominated throughout. Hit a big 3 at the end and loved how he took his man off the dribble all game.

-Jett was awesome tonight. Was all over the court causing chaos. 4 assists and 4 steals more than make up for his 3 turnovers. Along with McCall, was able to take his man off of the dribble whenever he wanted to.

-Conklin with his normal workmanlike performance. 11 points and 7 rebounds. He also stayed out of foul trouble which was key, due to Evans being off of the court for long stretches.

-Salecich had a really good game. Played great defense tonight, especially in the 2nd half. Also nice to see him hit a 3. Majerus showed some confidence in him by having him out there in crunch time.

-Cassity continues to struggle mightily with his shot. Played OK defense, but seemed like Salecich and Jett were more effective than him tonight. Also represented the 4th straight game where he failed to get to the free throw line. Looks like he was content to just let Jett and McCall run the show tonight and settle for threes (which did not hit.) In his last 5 games, he is 1-20 from three-point range. In that same time frame, he has only shot 9 two-point shots, but has hit 6 of them. Perhaps he should look to drive to the basket more rather than settling for threes that aren't hitting. It was nice to see him crashing the boards early on, coming up with 5 total.

-Loe only played 12 minutes due to a bad matchup defensively with the small, quick Duquesne squad. However, he still had 5 points and 3 rebounds. He hit a nice 3 in the 2nd half.

-Remekun was probably more effective than his stats show. Only had 2 rebounds and 1 block, but altered a few other shots. Did get beat on a couple of switches, but was still effective on the defensive end down low.

Overall, it was a really nice win and refreshing to see so much improvement in the freshmen from the beginning of the season. It looks like they are all comfortable in Majerus's system now. Also, all of them seem to be consciously working on their weaknesses. Billiken fans have to be excited about what the future holds for this squad!

Very well put and completely agree with everything here. I would only add the officiating was terribly inconsistent. I can deal with bad calls but as long as they are consistently bad. I was afraid the zebras could have let things spin out of control at some point, especially with our team being so young. Good game tonight!!

[billikenfan05]

Just throwing this out there. Larry Hughes stopped by Willie and talked with him for a minute or two. Only thing I could gather was that Larry asked Willie if he was coming back. IMO its can only be positive for Willie to hear LH's perspective on things.

[slu72]

Just throwing this out there. Larry Hughes stopped by Willie and talked with him for a minute or two. Only thing I could gather was that Larry asked Willie if he was coming back. IMO its can only be positive for Willie to hear LH's perspective on things.

Let's hope the legend wasn't giving him the advice he took. Show me the money. Not knocking LH for leaving after one year, but think he might have had a better pro career had he stayed thru his soph year. At the least he might have avoided being drafted by Phil and playing second fiddle to Iverson. Let's all hope WR senses the big picture here. He gets his academics and head straight. Comes back and plays with a vengenance next year alongside KM. The way our frosh are developing, BC's improved play, and a return to form by CE next year could be scary good.

[kmbilliken]

Has anyone noticed that Rob Loe has made significant improvement on defense over the last three games? I am not saying he is Marcus Camby, but, he has actually blocked some shots and is moving his feet to get to the right spot in time to play good help defense. I think this has been a real key to our overall team improvement.

IMO CS and JJ should be playing ahead of Cassity right now. I know he does a lot of little things, but guys who do the little things are better suited to be role players off the bench. I want the guys that do the bigger things starting and playing the majority of the minutes. I get the feeling KC is sort of "grandfathered" in as a starter and big minute player regardless of how much JJ and/or others are playing better than him.

Cassity seems to be beaten down by the season and the increased expectations. Hopefully he can find his mojo.

[slu72]

Cassity seems to be beaten down by the season and the increased expectations. Hopefully he can find his mojo.

KC from day one played sidekick to KM. He was careful w/ the ball, unselfish to a fault, and could hold his own on D. He was never expected to be the leader until 2 days before practice started. A role player suddenly thrust into being a leader, a scorer, et al. Not hard to see why this season's gone the way it has for him.

[AGB91]

I guess last night's game proved who the best frosh guard tandem is in the A-10. JJ and MM destroyed their frosh guards.

[JohnnyJumpUp]

Let's hope the legend wasn't giving him the advice he took. Show me the money. Not knocking LH for leaving after one year, but think he might have had a better pro career had he stayed thru his soph year. At the least he might have avoided being drafted by Phil and playing second fiddle to Iverson. Let's all hope WR senses the big picture here. He gets his academics and head straight. Comes back and plays with a vengenance next year alongside KM. The way our frosh are developing, BC's improved play, and a return to form by CE next year could be scary good.

Willie is not the same player LH was, if he was then I could see LH giving him that advice he took. How would LH staying at SLU for an additional year improved his pro career? FYI, he averaged 31 minutes and 14.2 points per game over his career. LH told him to hang in there and don't do anything he'll regret later in life. WR only has two more years to play college ball and if he doesn't take this opportunity seriously, we won't see him again and will only hear of him playing in Puerto Rico with Cotto.

[doowop]

Willie is not the same player LH was, if he was then I could see LH giving him that advice he took. How would LH staying at SLU for an additional year improved his pro career? FYI, he averaged 31 minutes and 14.2 points per game over his career. LH told him to hang in there and don't do anything he'll regret later in life. WR only has two more years to play college ball and if he doesn't take this opportunity seriously, we won't see him again and will only hear of him playing in Puerto Rico with Cotto.

Staying another year may have helped LH develop a more accurate shot. He may have averaged 14 points but his shooting percentage was not high.

[billiken_roy]

When justin love graduated and was brought into the suns summer program as an undrfafted. Free agent his father told me the sons had him with a shooting coach everyday working him like crazy. His father told me the progress he made in that month was amazing in his improvement in range accuracy and form. Love ended up being tbe last player cut that year for the suns and never played in the nba regular season.

My point, if love, who was a hard working 4 year college player with an already pretty good outside shot says he did more to increase his outside shot by going to the nba one would think hughes had even more opportunity going pro the 3 more years at west pine gym. Plus hughes got paid about $10 million for those three years.

There was no advantage or reason for hughes to stick around for his benefit. Take the money and run when you can.

[JohnnyJumpUp]

When justin love graduated and was brought into the suns summer program as an undrfafted. Free agent his father told me the sons had him with a shooting coach everyday working him like crazy. His father told me the progress he made in that month was amazing in his improvement in range accuracy and form. Love ended up being tbe last player cut that year for the suns and never played in the nba regular season.

My point, if love, who was a hard working 4 year college player with an already pretty good outside shot says he did more to increase his outside shot by going to the nba one would think hughes had even more opportunity going pro the 3 more years at west pine gym. Plus hughes got paid about $10 million for those three years.

There was no advantage or reason for hughes to stick around for his benefit. Take the money and run when you can.